Shoe holder or stretcher



F. R. SMITH SHOE HOLDER OR STRETCFIER Jul 19,, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 18, 1947 INVENTOR FreJ fidna'o/p/v 5/7 /75 y 19, 1949- 'F. R. SMITH SHOE HOLDER OR STRETCHER '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 18, 1947 I INVEN' TOR- fizd'fiando [0/7 firm/A ATTORNEY Patented July 19, 1949 .snonrnornsn oms'rRE'ren-En Fredfitandolph Smith',;T'acoma';'W'a3sh. V Applicationzllpril'lfl, 1947;: Serial- No.- 142,235

' GlClaims. (o1. 12.-12s.s)

invention relates \to devices iorholding a shoe whilelbeing cleaned and, polished, andhas for. its. objects. to. .provide-a. simple, inexpensive, device which; maybe. removably..- mounted. on. a wall, post, or other. -v,.erti1cal,surface; which will firmly. hold the. .sho.e...whi1e. being .manipulated; which'lis. readily. adjustable. to. fit. practicallyany s'izeand shape. of. shoe; which will firmly support. thempper surface. oi the. shoe. while .it; is being workedon; whichislstrong. and rigid whileholdingftheshom; andwhich is simple. in construction and. toinstalLinv operable. position, easy to adjust to..fill. out. .thelshoeg and;.efiectively. fulfills; its purpose.

lattain. these. and other objects. by..the, devices, mechanisms and, arrangementsillustrated. in the. accompanylngdrawings; which- Eigg. 1 is aplanview oimy improvedshoeholder, lshowing. it as. being. inserted. intoca .shoe and, in. briokenlines, Ishowingfit. expanded .to. .-fill. the shoe; 2. is anlisom'etric. view; thereof; Fig... 3 is. a. rear .felevation. oi. "the supporting plate. by which'it is secured to the wall; Fig. 4 is asection thereof, taken-.on'.--the:.line;-4?4 in Fig. 3 and showing a portion of the movable bracket extending therefromy-Eig: 5.:is afisection thereof, taken on the line 5-5 in Fig. 3 Fig. 6 is an enlarged view "of the upper ends of the brackets disassociated from the supporting plate,--'andFi'g. Tis a side elevation of the rack' for'holdinggthe brackets in adjusted expanded position.

. Similar numerals of reference refer to .thesame parts throughout the severalviews- Though many devices have"- been? developed 5 or holding ashoe'while being cleaned and: polished Ifind that'they are generallytoo: complicated to make to permit them tobe marketed ate: reasonablepricetor'they are too flimsy to be "strong and firm" when'irr'use also the 'means" for expanding themio filhout' the" shoe is generally dependent onazaucentralenexpansion of the toe pieces, thus failing to fillout, .the toe portion of. theshoe in true conformity to the shape. or the shoe; they also'gene'rally' require" too muchmanipulation of the expanding mechanism to be simple, quick and easy to adjust.

In order to improve these conditions I have provided a shoe holder which is simple, strong and firm when in use, which will fit any length of shoe, and which automatically fits any shape of toe.

Referring to the drawing, the securing plate I0 is provided with an elongated slot H at its upper end, and two slots !2 in its lower edge, said openings being adapted to permit the plate In to be. readilyremoved-when not in use.

he slipped.- under .the...heads. of. three. screws previouslyiinserted .in the vertical wall or post,whereby. .theplate and the shoe holder may be firmly heldiin, place whilein use; and from-which it. may The rear side oi the. plate J Dis. appropriately dished to pro.- vide room for the securing. tongues, hereinafter described and tobring. the rim of. the platelfiat against .the. wall.

..On...theli-lef.t.side. ofjtheldished .plate 10.; (as viewed. in. Fig... 3) .are two. vertical slots l3. and a .singlehorizontal slot. 14. 1 These..- slots .are adapted .toreceive. the tongues l5, .formed on the end of the .fixedxbracket. It. The tongues 15. are clinchedt'nghtly against the rear side of the plate liltcehold said. bracket l Bfixedlyin position, The right-side oflsaidplate ills providedwith three verticallslots L1,...similar to. the slots. .13. These slots, l'lxare. adapted to receive the tongues. moi the movable bracket l9. These slots and tongues are. in vertical alinementl and. the tongues areb-ent oppositedire'ctions in the, rear of. the plate. i ll but. are. not. c1inched...tightly. .thereagainst,. .thus holding .the'. bracket 1.9. in: firm. verticalv position but. allowingit. a slight. lateral movement. in relation zto:th& fixed bracket. 1.6. 5)

"The two brackets 16 and P9 are each composed oia vertical. part 21H. andan out-turnedhorizontal part 21.; forming av very. stiff; and strongv angle iron. shape.

.Thefixed-bracket. LG-isprovided with a rack bar" 22 loosely.pinr1ed-,..to. it .(liigfl l-).-.and passingthrough. a hole in its verticalside. 2B. This. bar

' 22, passes. across thespace between. thebrackets I5 and I9 .andithrou'ghe hole 23'..in.=.the vertical side of the bracket .59.. The. barZZ. is provided with, rack. teeth 24 in its lower edge, said teeth being. adaptedltocengage. the .lower. edge of the saidth'ole- 23..ta hold the. said bracket 19. adjusted lateral position, as hereinafter described. A- knob 25 may be: provided atthe end oifthe bar 22. to, facilitatefits. being .freedlfrom engagement with 'the" bar. 1119.

The two brackets l6 and 19' extend'downward in parallel inclines to the lower end thereof. A pair of complementary toe pieces 26 are pivoted to the ends of the respective brackets l6 and [9 in such manner that they are perfectly free to swing on their pivots, independent of each other, to fill and to fit the inside of the shoe, whether the shoe be small or large, for the right foot or the left foot, when the shoe is thrust thereover. It will be particularly noted that the two toe pieces 26 are wholly disconnected from each other and can therefore assume any positions on the 3 brackets to fill and fit the inside of the shoe, and that they extend a suificient distance to support the upper surface of the shoe to brace it while being cleaned or polished.

The bracket l 9 is provided with a series of rack teeth 27 on its lower edge. A heel holder 28 is mounted on the said bracket l9. This heel holder comprises a bent metal member, having a slot 29 at its upper end, said slot spanning the horizontal member 2| of the said bracket 19. The holder 28 arches at 30 over the said horizontal member 2| and is provided with a central slot 3| through which the said bracket 19 passes. The lower edge of the said slot 3| is adapted to engage one of the rack teeth 24 on the lower edge of the member 20 of the said bracket. The lower part 32, of the heel holder 28 is adapted to engage the inside of the heel of the shoe.

The heel holder, therefore, may be freely slid up the bracket l9 until the part 32 engages the heel of the shoe, when further pressure on the arch 30 causes the holder 28 to raise slightly, bringing the lower edge of the slot 3| into engagement with the teeth 21 and causing a slight distortion of the arch-30, which therefore acts as a spring, thus insuring the firm hold of the part 32 on the shoe heel.

When the shoe is placed on my improved shoe holder, and is pressed as far thereon as possible, the bracket I9 is pressed away from the bracket It, thus spreading the ends of the two brackets apart so that the toe pieces 26 completely fill out the toe portion of the shoe, then the heel holder 28 is pushed as far up on the bracket I9 as it will go until the part 32 tightly holds the heel of the shoe under the tautened spring action of the arch 30. To release the shoe from the holder it is necessary to release the bracket l9 from the rack bar 22 and the heel holder from the rack teeth 21.

It is, of course, understood that many changes may be made in the details of my improved shoe holder without departing from the spirit of my invention as outlined in the appended claims.

Having, therefore, described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoe holder the combination of a wall plate; a fixed bracket secured thereto and extending out therefrom; a movable bracket secured thereto and extending out therefrom and having a slight lateral motion in relation to said fixed bracket; means mounted on one said bracket and engaging the other said bracket to hold them in selected position relative to each other; and toe pieces pivotally mounted on the ends of said brackets, whereby said toe pieces may swing to fill the shoe toe when said laterally movable bracket is swung away from said fixed bracket.

2. In a shoe holder, the combination of a wall plate; a fixed bracket secured thereto and extending out therefrom in downward incline; a

movable bracket secured to said wall plate and extending therefrom in parallel incline to said fixed bracket and having a slight lateral motion in relation to said fixed bracket; ratchet means mounted on said fixed bracket and engaging said movable bracket to hold it in selected position relative to said fixed bracket; and toe pieces pivotally mounted on the ends of said brackets, whereby said toe pieces may be swung to fill the shoe toe when said laterally movable bracket is swung away from said fixed bracket.

3. In a shoe holder as set forth in claim 2, wherein said toe pieces are wholly independent each of the other.

4. In a shoe holder as set forth in claim 2, together with a heel holder, slidably mounted on said movable bracket and adapted to engage and hold the heel of the shoe; and means to maintain said heel holder in selected position on said bracket.

5. In a shoe holder, the combination of a wall plate; a fixed bracket secured thereto and ex tending out therefrom in downward inclined position; a second bracket secured to said wall plate and lying parallel with said first bracket and having a slight lateral movement in relation thereto; ratchet means mounted on the first bracket and engaging the second bracket to hold it in selected position relatively to the first bracket; toe pieces pivotally mounted on the ends of said two brackets; a heel holder slidably mounted on said second bracket; and means to hold the heel holder in selected position on said second bracket.

6. A shoe holder as set forth in claim 5, wherein said heel holder comprises a resilient body, and wherein said means to hold the heel holder in selected position comprises a rack formed on said second bracket and engaged by said heel holder, the resilient portion thereof being distorted by the pressure between the shoe heel and the heel holder, to firmly hold the heel holder in adjusted position.

FRED RANDOLPH SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

France June 19,1933 

